Blanchard strapped into West Aussie Jason Pryde’s TA2 Camaro on Monday ahead of his racing return at the wheel of a Mustang in the Trans Am Series at Hidden Valley.
As revealed by Speedcafe, Blanchard will tackle the Top End in a class that also features ex-BRT drivers Aaron Love, Tim Slade and Todd Hazelwood.
Admitting he was trying to keep the Wanneroo laps under the radar, Blanchard said he enjoyed his first taste of a TA2 machine.
“It all came together fairly late and there wasn’t really much of an opportunity to get some laps in the car,” explained Blanchard on the Authentic Collectables Role Models Podcast.
“Then TA2/Trans Am was on over the weekend at the Supercars event, I was still [there] on Monday and the stars aligned to jump into Jason’s car for a few laps.
“After the first five or 10 laps I was very relieved we did, because going out in Practice 1 in Darwin having never driven one would have been a tall ask.
“Very different to what I’m used to driving with a Supercar. It’s kind of like a big, heavy Formula Ford, they move around a lot, H-pattern, four-speed. It was actually a lot of fun.
“Once I kind of got used to it [and] the long brake pedal, I was having a lot of fun.”
The Formula Ford analogy could be a good omen for Blanchard, whose junior career included winning the prestigious national title in 2007.
The Mustang Blanchard will race in Darwin is on loan from a family friend and has been prepared for the event at BRT’s headquarters in Melbourne.
Blanchard, however, insists the program won’t take away from the team’s Supercars operation that scored a maiden podium with James Courtney on Sunday.
The result was a long-time coming for a squad which joined the grid in 2021 and has endured a tumultuous journey to date, including well-publicised struggles this year.
“We’ve done it the hard way because we started the team from scratch, which has been well documented,” he said.
“We had to buy all the equipment, recruit the staff, build the infrastructure, so it’s been a long journey.
“To go from one car to two cars [in 2024] was a massive step. Everyone says it’s a big step and they were certainly right.
“But it’s been a hard journey, four and a half years.
“We’ve been close a number of times; I think we’d been fourth way too many times, more than I’d like to remember”
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